2023 Road Warrior awards handed out to three OOIDA members

A trio of OOIDA members were honored as “Road Warriors” by Pilot Flying J.

The company’s annual Road Warrior contest recognizes the hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice of professional truck drivers who go the extra mile to keep America moving.

Don Crouse, a life member from Bruceville, Ind., was named this year’s grand prize winner after being nominated for the award by his wife, Cindy.

“Thirty years ago, I was driver of the year for a small company of about 30 drivers,” Crouse said. “When Pilot said this award was on behalf of 30,000 employees, that’s when it really hit.”

As this year’s Road Warrior winner, Crouse was presented a check for $15,000 during what was disguised as a lunch meeting with a friend.

“I got a message three weeks earlier about meeting at Boyd Grain to go to lunch,” Crouse said. “We walked in, and all kinds of people were there along with a 60-inch screen that played a message from Mr. Haslam (founder of Pilot Flying J). It was quite a shock.”

Crouse, who drives for Boyd Grain, said forget winning – he had no idea he even was nominated.

“Besides being a great driver for over 50 years, Don has gone above and beyond supporting our nation’s veterans through Wreaths Across America, and it’s awesome to see a company like Pilot recognize him for all his selfless efforts,” said Logan Graber, co-owner of Boyd Grain. “All of us at Boyd Grain are proud to work with Don.”

Robert Palm, a life member from New Mexico and founder of Truckers Final Mile, received the runner-up prize of $10,000. Palm is a U.S. Army veteran and has 40 years of experience in the trucking industry.

The third-place prize of $5,000 went to Angelique Temple, an OOIDA member from Virginia. Temple serves on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s commercial driver panel and was inducted into the Howes Hall of Fame in 2022. She has been a professional driver for more than 20 years.

“It was inspiring to read the nominations celebrating professional drivers’ heroism, dedication and selfless acts of kindness,” said Adrienne Ingoldt, vice president of brand and marketing for Pilot Flying J. “At every turn and with each mile driven, these professional drivers go above and beyond to help people and communities along the way.” LL

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